Two things really stand out in my mind regarding the massacre at Virginia Tech where 31 students and 1 Prof were shot to death by a psychotic, young, madman named Cho Seung-Hui. 
Cho, a 4th Year English Major, was armed with two handguns that he had legally purchased and we now know that most of his victims received multiple gunshot wounds.
First of all, after reading some of his Plays and English assignments, one of his teachers had expressed concern to Administrators about his mental stability. Like the Healthcare System, the Legal System
Cho, a 4th Year English Major, was armed with two handguns that he had legally purchased and we now know that most of his victims received multiple gunshot wounds.
First of all, after reading some of his Plays and English assignments, one of his teachers had expressed concern to Administrators about his mental stability. Like the Healthcare System, the Legal System
(I refuse to refer to it as the Justice System)
is designed to function on a reactive basis and fails miserably in the proactive mode...
so nothing could be done that didn't infringe on his Rights.
I wonder what an FBI Profiler would think about a guy like Film Director Quentin Tarantino after reading one of his ultra violent screenplays? Wouldn’t a Profiler think that Tarantino was a danger to society?
I wonder what an FBI Profiler would think about a guy like Film Director Quentin Tarantino after reading one of his ultra violent screenplays? Wouldn’t a Profiler think that Tarantino was a danger to society?
The price of living in an open and free society was especially severe on this day but what are the alternatives?
Secondly, after Cho’s initial attacks he apparently then retired to his dorm for two hours before resuming his slaughter. During this time the Campus remained open because the Authorities assumed that the assailant was finished his killing spree. By the time he had resumed his savage executions, and the Police were finally closing in on him, exactly as you’d expect from a little f*cking coward, Cho then took his own life. I assumed that Police were now trained to storm into these situations like a tsunami and immediately neutralize the perpetrator?
Secondly, after Cho’s initial attacks he apparently then retired to his dorm for two hours before resuming his slaughter. During this time the Campus remained open because the Authorities assumed that the assailant was finished his killing spree. By the time he had resumed his savage executions, and the Police were finally closing in on him, exactly as you’d expect from a little f*cking coward, Cho then took his own life. I assumed that Police were now trained to storm into these situations like a tsunami and immediately neutralize the perpetrator?
What happened?
Last October I posted some comparable and interesting stats on Deaths and Murder Rates in the USA and Canada. Canada’s Population (30M) is roughly 10% that of the USA (300M).
Not surprisingly our Death Rates are quite similar.
Last October I posted some comparable and interesting stats on Deaths and Murder Rates in the USA and Canada. Canada’s Population (30M) is roughly 10% that of the USA (300M).
Not surprisingly our Death Rates are quite similar.
In the USA there are 2.3 Million Deaths per year and Canada has about 225,000, roughly 10%.
A very disturbing statistic is the fact that 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year (80/day) compared to 4,000 Canadians (10/day), again quite similar.
Where we really part ways are the shocking MURDER stats.
In the USA there are approximately 14,000 Murders per Year (38/day) and 500/yr in Canada (1 every 2nd day).
In America, 10,000 of the 14,000 Annual Murders, (27/day) are the result of GUNS
A very disturbing statistic is the fact that 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year (80/day) compared to 4,000 Canadians (10/day), again quite similar.
Where we really part ways are the shocking MURDER stats.
In the USA there are approximately 14,000 Murders per Year (38/day) and 500/yr in Canada (1 every 2nd day).
In America, 10,000 of the 14,000 Annual Murders, (27/day) are the result of GUNS
while Canada has about 175 Gun/Murders per year.
WHY? Because there are an estimated
WHY? Because there are an estimated
220,000,000 GUNS in America
and about 7M in Canada…and my final stat..
in the USA there are a guesstimated
in the USA there are a guesstimated
75,000,000 Handguns &
7,500 Handgun Murders
committed annually.
Isn't the most obvious problem the availability and incredible supply of GUNS?
Isn't the most obvious problem the availability and incredible supply of GUNS?
Surprisingly the ongoing Media Frenzy hasn’t exploited the coverage by playing the song "I Don’t Like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats…
a song inspired by another senseless school shooting.
"All the playing's stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while.
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die.
And then the bullhorn crackles,
And the captain crackles,
With the problems and the how's and why's.
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die?
Tell me why? I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why? I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why? I don't like Mondays.
I want to shoo-00-oo-oot
the
whole
day
down"
and he did.
Gun control is part of the problem, a culture of fear, an absense of personal responcibility, a country obsessed with an archaic right to bear arms... and i stress a RIGHT to bear arms. Not a privilige to own a weapon for what ever pupose but a right....
ReplyDeleteRight to an education, right to feel safe, right to health care, im sorry but owning a pistol does not fall into the same catergory.
Its just all so horrible HE.
I'm with Aidan here. Sadly, we had to have our own very local version of this ghastly malaise to deliver some boot-to-backside (the Bryant murders.);still far too many guns too readily available.
ReplyDeleteOh, I thought it was a girl in that geldof song?
It just is so damn horrible that this happened..
ReplyDeleteguns and beer, guns and pizza, guns and licorice....
ReplyDeletegun vending machines?
And not to be outdone while the whole country is still reeling from the Virginia Tech massacre, Houston illegal alien smugglers (modern day human slaves smugglers)had a shootout in the freeway directly in front of a daycare center and busy shopping strip yesterday. These smugglers have guns and weapons and they know that they can't be touched because Houston was declared a refuge city by its dumb mayor.
ReplyDeleteaaaah-HA! now why on earth can't anybody else see that!?!
ReplyDeleteaidan,
ReplyDeleteThe National Rifle Association, one of the most POWERFUL lobby groups in America, immediately began reciting it's mantra that Guns don't kill people, People kill people.
The much debated 2nd Amendment was written to establish a standing Militia of Civilians in case King George, any of his successors in Britain, or other Invaders, decided to attack the US.
Gun control in the US is impossible because the Elected Officials kowtow to the NRA despite the fact that 51% of Americans want changes made to this archaic and deadly game of cat and mouse.
dinahmow,
Yes it was a girl in the song but the gender is really inconsequential when Firearms are involved.
Even in Canada despite having much stricter Gun Laws we have witnessed this horror in our schools. It is just way too easy to KILL someone with a gun.
perspective,
Everybody remembers a scary, 'weird', loner from their school days...but in 'my day' we never wondered if they were going to snap and take out their inner turmoil with a Gun.
joyce,
Even going to Grand Forks and walking through Cabelo's GUN and Wildlife Decimation Emporium you cannot help but notice the LOVE of GUNS in that country.
We are both 'urbanized' nations now and aside from a few farmers who need a Rifle on the Farm and Weekend Warriors who despite Centuries of Socialization still feel the need for some 'take-out' food, who needs a Gun?
Oh yeah we need Hanguns for protecting our Homes and solving Traffic disputes.
ces,
I watch CNN's Lou Dobbs try to raise awareness and get a fire started under America's pants about this issue. The imprisoned border guards who shot atthe protected drug dealers..the whole thing is madness!
All because some politicians are sucking up to a segment of the population who can't even LEGALLY vote for them?!?!
You need to enforce your Laws and build a wall because Mexico isn't going to do anything..EVER.
angel,
They can see it but the NRA is so powerful that most elected politicians turn a blind eye, hold their nose and swallow all of their rhetoric. Many Americans, especially survivalist/anarchist think that the Right to Bare Arms is providential AND they need a cache of weapons in case they have to take on the Government someday!?
The inmates are running the asylum.
I abhor the NRA and the mentality of the people that join that organization. But, apparently, I'm a minority in this country. It all makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that Virginia is a relatively tight state re. gun control? Private citizens are only allowed to buy ONE gun/month (legally) there. That you can buy one gun in a lifetime (legally) boggles MY mind.
ReplyDeleteNothing like the NRA to ice the "we are the latest version of the Roman Empire cake" is there?
As usual, fantastic stats that make everything black and white (or, in your case, blue, red and green) plus the simple logic you always provide that's right on.
ReplyDeleteAndrea's stat is amazing...they're ONLY to allowed to buy one gun PER MONTH in Virginia.
Now THAT'S gun control.
I still marvel at that scene in Bowling for Columbine when Michael Moore shows up on Charlton Heston's doorstep of his palatial mansion and questions him about gun control...
The answer is so clear and simple...and the latest news, of course, is that this guy had been in a mental institution and had stalked women in 2005, and he sent threatening notes, and he was all but ignored by everyone in a position of power and authority.
And 32 unassuming, unaware people died as a result.
He was using a fully automatic weapon, something that until recently, was illegal- and I loved Dubya's reassurances that he still respects the 2nd Amendment.
ReplyDeleteGood for him. I, however, no longer do.
The way it was reported on the BBC News this evening, in the US there's been very little discussion since the shootings about gun control laws. Mind you, perhaps that's just the BBC trying to generalise and show Americans in a bad light. Dunblane happened over here, after all, and gun crime is on the rise, so perhaps the British shouldn't feel all smug and superior.
ReplyDelete16000 Iraqi civilians have been killed between Nov 06 and April 07
ReplyDeleteMission Accomplished! Our headlines look just like Baghdad's - we are spreading the hell outta some freedom, I'm tellin ya!
ReplyDeleteSo awful. Those poor families.
ReplyDeleteMy brother announced a few weeks ago that he will be getting his hunting license and purchasing a rifle. I've always been against guns, I won't even let the kids play with toy guns. I wish he would change his mind.
May I direct you to the comment I wrote at WW's blog ?
ReplyDeleteIt is so ferking sad, I hate it. I grew up with a dad that was in a shotgun club, his dad was in a shot gun club too. They went and shot clay targets, they werent mad people, they did it for a sport. It all stopped after my little sister was born. There was a financial problem with the whole of Australia back then, so people worked more and played less.
ReplyDeleteWhen I wne tot Air Cadets, I was proud to be the first female to be allowed to attend the Weapons Training camp. I did very well. I can tell you this, our camp went for 2 weeks. We learned safety, drilled it into us for a whole 11 days. On the last day, we were allowed to go to the shooting range and fire the weapon we were taught safety about..ONLY IF WE PASSED THE SAFETY THOUGH.
I am ot a gun nut, I wouldn't change my experience for the World.
I am a nurse, I have seen a few gun sot woundsin my time come through the Hospital doors, they are horrific. Usually, it is a result of people with guns not knowig their safety and having fecked around not knowing it was loaded.
I am glad that we have strict gun laws here since the Port Arthur Massacre. People handed in their arms after that. It is tougher to obtian arms from a licsenced dealer after that.
It is not to say people cannot get them on the street, just that it is less of the public that have guns now, just the baddies have them now I guess..not comforting at all.
he, thanks for this post. the problem is gun control but not just. we've lost roots and connections. you can be totally crazy or wither on the streets and no one acts. that's what happens when community falls apart.
ReplyDeleteas for guns, man, this kid got his guns in 10 minutes without effort. i wish the nra would look at this particuliar result and agree to support some background checks: like if you've been mentally hospitalized, no guns without further screening. or you provide letters of reference. or some damn thing that makes it just a tad harder to walk away with arms.
god bless.
ps. amen iggy.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteyes it all comes down to giving a RIGHT to own a weapon that can destroy many lives. I dun u'stand how a weapon can be LAWFUL. For security forces its different. But for the general public, giving a RIGHT to own a weapon is just ridiculous. So then we r giving ourselves a RIGHT to kill. Cos what else is a weapon used for? Sporting? Well there r many other sports one can take up. A gun is a dangerous item. Lets just not give it to the hands of a lunatic in the name of LAW. btw there r SO MANY mad ppl out there!
ReplyDeleteKeshi.
laurie,
ReplyDeleteYou must be in the minority in your part of the country..you're living a heartbeat away from the survivalist/anarchists!
I understand the reasoning behind the NRA and the vast majority of guns are owned and safely secured by good people...the problem is, according to those stats, that a society can't survive if it HOPES that 10,000 Murderers will just disappear.
The same reason that our Legal System doesn't work..there are too many bad apples.
andrea,
Shut-UP!?
Since PMS Rage is now a bona fide defense strategy in a court of Law and you can buy a gun every month..
it is probably safe to assume that Virginia has some of the 'nicest, most considerate' husbands in the entire country...all year long.
with andrea's avatar,
Yes the almighty dollar still reigns supreme. If Dealers had to check out EVERYTHING you wouldn't be able to SELL as many guns!
They need more Buck for their Bang.
Allan,
Well you know them thar fellers at the NRA are still pretty nervous 'bout them British Troops sneakin' back to give the Colonials a sound whuppin'!
It's the present American King George 2nd that they need to worry about, the English King George 3rd went craaazzzy and had that purple pee and now I hear that he's plum gone and died on us.
Betty,
Canada has also had our own dismal share of school massacres even with much tougher laws. Our Media gleefully expresses our National disdain for the Gun Lovin' Babrbarian Culture to the South but we have our own segments of society who are armed to the teeth.
Honestly, either everybody has a gun or nobody gets one...humans seem to only understand mutual assured destruction.
ziggi,
I have been watching America at the Crossroads all week long on PBS. It is a series of Documentaries on post 9/11 America.
One show dealt with the soldiers in Iraq who cannot tell who is a friendly and who is an enemy. Having a lot of nervous people running around with automatic weapons is a recipe for disaster.
The loss of life over there is staggering and I was amazed that every morning the US Troops go out to document and investigate the deaths of 20 to 30 Civilians who have been executed by the insurgents during the night.
America has a War of it's own because they also have 27 Gun Murders every day.
Allan,
Yup, and spreading it pretty THIN!
christine,
My nice little pacifist Mennonite wife did everything possible to steer our little guy away from playing with toy guns..now he makes lego guns and k'nex guns and Playdough guns!
Most boys explore gunplay but most of us leave it after we've seen our first dead sparrow or squirrel.
I used to love shooting at the range when I was a scout but I have never gone hunting..my Dad grew up in the country around guns but one time while Deer Hunting a stray bullet zinged off a piece of bark about 6 inches from his head.
My Dad walked back to the truck and never picked up another rifle...I sort of took that to heart.
hildegarde,
If we destroyed every last gun someone would build a million more the very next day, and believe it or not I didn't know that WW was going to be writing about the same thing...he only phones to make sure that we don't wear the same outfits to Gala events!
cazzie,
I received my Hunter Safety Certificate and went to the range when I was in Scouts. There were Guns around me when I was younger and living in a rural environment.
Since then my country and the US have morphed into Urban centered societies and the need to have a rifle to shoot vermin in the hen house has long been erased.
kj,
I agree but here is that slippery slope into Big Brother where everybody's complete information is available to the authorities...we're almost there now anyway...but YES! Could it be any easier to buy a gun? and it is my understanding that at those gun shows that many of the restrictions are waived...it's all about money.
There are some lawsuits in court against gun manufacturers which are being fought along the samines as the suits against cigarette corporations...
that there is no other use for their product other than to take the life of another human being.
Go Get 'Em!
keshi,
ReplyDeleteThere are too many nutjobs out there! I don't want to sound insensitive to the whole thing but I prefer to deal with this horror with something dark, and satirical ..
one of my all time favorite scenes from the Simpsons, which I think perfectly captures how ludicrous the whole GUN thing is!!!!
Gun Shop Owner:
"Woah, careful there, Annie Oakley." (grabs gun from Homer)
Homer:
"I don't have to be careful. I got a gun."
Gun Shop Owner:
"And this is for shooting down police helicopters."
Homer:
"Oh, I don't need anything like that...yet. Just give me my gun." (reaches for gun)
Gun Shop Owner:
"Sorry, the law requires a five-day waiting period. We've got to run a background check."
Homer:
"FIVE DAYS!?
But I'm mad now!"
aha good one HE :)
ReplyDeleteKeshi.
The girl in question was Brenda Spencer, in her early teens, she took her father's shotgun to school and fired off a couple of rounds. I think she killed 2 kids and injured one other, but I could be wrong. Her answer to why she did it was "I don't like Mondays".
ReplyDeleteThere is something deep within the psyche of Americans, I think, something disturbing which relies on aggression to solve everything. It's scary and depressing.
Probally something in the canteen food like msg or some thing!
ReplyDeleteMore than likely something in the gun........like bullets!
stace,
ReplyDeleteIt is truly pathetic that we have reached a stage where metal detectors and Police Officers are becoming standard requirements in schools.
The Amwerican Wild West scenario would be much different if there weren't so many BLOODY GUNS around.
I remember seeing a News story about a kid in Elementary schoool who brought a gun that he 'found' at home to school...the least that they could do would be to Lock Up Parents who don't Lock Up their Guns!
Steve,
I think that it has more to do with MFG than MSG...as in the MFG's of GUNS!
Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about guns. Ban the effing things for everyone. Want to hunt? Too effing bad. I have heard the argument that only criminals will have guns if you ban them. Well okay then, but 99.9% of accidental shootings happen with the legally obtained weapons anyway. My family was torn apart by gun violence and I personally will not be in the same room with a gun.
ReplyDeleteNo guns = less violence with guns.
The second amendment of the Constitution does not guarantee the right to bear arms except in the case of a proper militia, which in our case is the National Guard. So okay then, guns are guaranteed for them. Otherwise? Get rid of all of them for everyone.
shelley,
ReplyDeleteI agree, either we all get one..or NOBODY gets one!
And I'm telling you right now that I want a HUGE F'n monster 44 MAG that will take a Home Intruder's head right off KABOOM
...or if some dumbass cuts me off BANG
...or he or she doesn't signal BLAM
...or even if I don't like the way they look at me POW
Look MA, I'm on top 'o the World!
HAHAH! You go, boy. ;)
ReplyDeleteIn India too, there are some parts where one can buy country masde guns very easily. They come cheap too. One jut needs to know where to contact. Some politicians are involved are involved too.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone care?
We talk about and forget about it after a while.
shelley,
ReplyDeleteDamn Straight!
gautami,
It is a universal problem..there are more guns on this planet than there are people..which pretty much says it all.
These soft tissued little containers that we humans parade around in are no match for a searing piece of lead even if it was delivered by a child...Guns are THE weapon of mass destruction..they have killed far more people than Nuclear Weapons...so far.
With such a heavy heart and a reeling mind, you are so right...
ReplyDeletekevin,
ReplyDeleteOK now we have to strike that little pricks name from the history books..why should he become a household name and all of his victims be forgotten..this is exactly what is wrong with our system..completely REactive...
This f*cking little twirp doesn't deserve to be INfamous he deserves to have every trace of his existence on Earth vanish..
we're so stupid.